The present invention relates to a camera furnished with a zoom lens and an electronic flash (or strobe) capable of changing the angle of illumination. In particular, the present invention relates to a camera furnished with an electronic flash (or strobe) capable of changing the angle of illumination in operative association with the zooming action.
Rangefinder-type cameras having a built-in assembly of automatic focusing and strobe units are popular today. The assignee of the present invention has successfully commercialized a rangefinder camera that also includes a zoom lens system capable of effecting continuous changes in the focal length. Japanese Patent Application No. 108278/1986 and many other patent applications have been filed on different aspects of this camera.
In these zoom lens camera models, the light-emitting portion of the strobe unit is positioned in front of the camera body. This light-emitting portion, which is composed of a Fresnel lens secured to the front face of the body of the camera and a light-emitting member that is a unitary assembly including a xenon lamp and a reflector, is formed in such a way that it is capable of moving back and forth relative to the Fresnel lens. The light-emitting member is designed to change the angle of illumination in operative association with the zooming action of the zoom lens system.
A camera having the light-emitting portion of a strobe unit fixed at a position close to the optical axis of the photographing lens has the disadvantage that it often causes the "red-eye" effect when a picture of a human subject is being taken with the strobe. The "red-eye" effect is a phenomenon in which the strobe emits rays of light traveling close to the optical axis of the photographing lens, which are reflected from the retina of the subject to produce a picture in which the pupil appears red due to the presence of blood vessels in the retina.
The red-eye effect can be prevented by moving the light-emitting portion of the strobe unit away from the optical axis of the photographing lens as far as possible. In consideration of this fact, the conventional zoom lens camera models manufactured by the assignee are designed in such a way that the light-emitting portion of the strobe unit is kept at a reasonable distance from the optical axis of the photographing lens. However, the distance from the light-emitting portion to the optical axis of the photographing lens cannot be increased indefinitely to prevent the red-eye effect completely.